A Certain Normal Day in the Life of a Cat Girl – OC One-Shot
by Just-a-Villain
Summary: Ever since Accelerator managed to crush the dark side that long reigned from the shadows of Academy City after the wakes of World War III, it seemed like the city would finally be able to live in peace. However, will it last? To ensure that every little spark of the old ways will be quelled as soon as possible, a certain cat girl is ready to plunge into the darkness herself.


Academy City was a place of many strange occurrences. Not a day would go by without someone experiencing something that one might say only could happen in a manga or a novel. Which is also why that a sight of a girl having very realistic-looking cat ears and even a fluffy tail swinging behind her could not be even seen as something that extraordinary. Nethertheless, such a girl was still gathering some stares from her surroundings. You could say that the only thing really standing out from her were these feline features you should normally never see on any human being. She might be described as rather cute, with her short green hair and her sharp looking golden eyes. She wore a blue letterman jacket over a green shirt, black shorts and corresponding boots. Her cat ears were sticking out of a beanie which seemed to have two holes in it, just for that was a thin chain hanging from the left side of her belt were several small keychains were attached, all giving small clinging noises as she walked on. Their appearances were possibly a bit strange as all of them looked like a different weapon, though only weapons you could see in the hands of a ninja, or at least what pop culture told you what kind of weapons ninjas would use. There were katana's, shurikens, kunais, but also a gun. On first glance, having such keychains could only give you the impression that she was a bit of a nerd, who had watched too much anime and thought it would be cool to carry around weapons as keychains and we should just leave it at that for now. She was also carrying a relatively plain schoolbag over her shoulder as well.

Suddenly her phone began to rang, which prompted the cat girl to take it out and accept the call.

"Yo?"

"Hitomi-chan! I can't believe you skipped classes again!"

"Oh, Yumiko? Ah, sorry. You know… Something came up as usual." The cat-eared girl, carrying the name Hitomi, sounded unperturbed as she gave her apparent friend this answer.

"S-Something came up?! You can't just go around and come to school whenever you feel like it! One day they might just throw you out!"

"I mean they haven't so far, so I suppose I am good to go."

"But you know! University entrance exams are right around the corner and you can't just throw away your future like that!"

"Oh, don't you worry about that." Her walking stopped for a moment as she had reached a crossroad with the light turning red, "I mean… I have you giving me more than enough private lessons after all. And I am not that dumb myself!"

"Hnnnghh!" Hitomi could imagine her friend pouting while making that cute sound and she couldn't help but smirk at that, "Y-You being smart and still getting good marks is probably the only reason why they haven't thrown you out of school yet!"

"See? No problem at all. And you know that the next big gig is next week. So I have to practise for that."

"Can I come?" Hitomi blinked at these words.

"Well you know… The places where we hold our little concerts isn't really a place for Mrs. Honor Student and Class President. You'd get eaten alive."

"D-Don't make it sound so scary! I mean they are your friends and it is a place you like to go, so they all must be good people! Besides, I have been on some of your concerts before!"

"Hah… Yumiko… Sometimes I wish I could be as naive as you." The catgirl chuckled at that, "Well yeah… You were, but I can still see your shaking legs and your face being all contorted because you tried to look normal, while you were clearly afraid from all the muscular men and rough-looking women around you?"

"I-I-I-I-I wasn't! I just love hearing you play on the bass… You always look so cool."

Once again, Hitomi could only blink at these words.

"Well… It's not like a bass could play you a distinct melody. It's all about…"

"But it is."

"Eh?"

"For me… It carries a beautiful melody. I can truly see that playing them brings you happiness and that is music. N-Not that I know a lot of it, that is!"

There was quiet for a moment, before…

"Wow, Yumiko… I never heard something so cheesy in my life. You have read too many shoujo-manga."

"H-Hitomi-chan! I was being serious… Why must you always be so…"

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry, okay? Alright then. I will let you come. Just promise me that you'll be on the first row and watch me, alright?"

"O-Of course! When will you be back?"

Hitomi was already standing and looking up a skyscraper. "Probably a few hours. Can't say for sure. I'll ring you."

"Alright~ Be careful!"

"Yeah, you too."

And with that, they hung up on each other. For a moment Hitomi looked at her phone and the look on her face could only be interpreted as somber, before she shook her head and the prior disinterest from before the call was back again. Carefully observing the skyscraper in front of her for another short time, she turned around and made her way to another apartment building which was several stories higher than the one she had just looked before. You would think that Academy City, which was a city filled with students would only mostly have dorms for them to live in, but this was not entirely true. Some students, through mostly funds of their parents could certainly offer themselves a nice big flat on their own and this was definitely true for the one skyscraper she just entered herself. Mostly rich students were occupying it and therefore it comes to no surprise that one floor could only house one or two apartments at a time, which did explain its height. Most prestigious academies had dorms on their own and while they were definitely quite luxurious themselves, there were many of the upper class not happy with the lack of space they had and this is why they'd rather live here than take on the offer of the school. Though Tokiwadai required all of its student to visit one of their dorms, many other Private schools didn't have such strict rules as the famous middle school, which explained why such places as this one existed.

It wasn't as if Hitomi was living in this building, yet she still went inside, her hands remained in pockets as she made her way towards the staircase, hidden behind the elevators. Nobody had paid her any mind, as she opened the glass door to begin her march up the stairs. During her climb, she didn't meet anyone, which would come as no surprise as it was pretty obvious, that most people living here would only use the chic elevators she had just passed, with the stairs only existing as a safety measure, should the elevator become non-accessible. But the destination she was going for was not to be reached by using the elevator anyway.

After a few minutes of what seemed to be endless climbing, she finally reached her destination, a door to the rooftop of this apartment building. It was closed naturally, but it did not seem like the cat-eared girl was seeing this as any problem. She was rummaging through her pockets and pulled something long, thin and metallic out. After fiddling around with the lock a little, a quiet click was heard and the door opened anyway. As rich and complex the security systems in Academy City tend to be, they were often lacking in places like here. Putting the picklock back in her pocket, she made her way to the rooftop, taking in for a moment the feeling of the winds flowing through her green hair, before she readjusted her beanie and walked towards the edge of the roof. She seemed to consider some things, before putting her bag down and opening it. After a few seconds of her looking through its contents she was taking something out of it. It looked a bit like a miniature version of a four-ended hook attached to a long string. It almost looked like a toy, before it suddenly began to grow in size within her hand and the true nature of it got revealed.

It was a grappling hook.

She was inspecting it for some moment, as well as checking the length of the string that now had become a rope, which she was now furling up in her hand. After she finished these preparations, she placed the hook on the ground, taking something else out of her bag. This time it looked like a tiny pistol. But yet again, it grew in size and revealed its true form, though it still couldn't be really described to a true pistol. It looked too futuristic for that, the end of the barrel also seemed too big for any kind of bullets, as well the handle having a big hole in it where it seemed like something had to be inserted. What also stood out was a large circular attachment on the right side from it. She looked up again and towards the building in front of the one she was currently located.

"Hmm… Five meters? Or rather six?" She spoke to herself, taking another thing out of her bag, which immediately grew in size as soon as it was brought out of it. This time it were binoculars, who also seemed to be much more sophisticated than any regular ones. She looked through them for some seconds and her mouth moved wordlessly, before putting said binocular down.

"6,23 it is…" She murmured as her tail moved behind her which made her hesitate for a moment. She blinked, "With that wind… Maybe 6,21… Yeah."

After she said that, she made something click on the pistol which made it open up sideways, like a book. She grabbed the hook at her side and actually put it inside the gun, with the end of the hook itself looking out of the muzzle of the gun, while the rest of the rope came out from the handle. She then began to turn the round attachment on the side for quite some time until she seemed to be happy with what she did. She put down the two combined objects and put her hands inside the bag again.

This time it was finally something normal-sized. It looked like a belt, with several little pockets attached to it, but also some keychains, similar to those she already carried on the little chain coming from her pocket.

She put the belt on over her actual one and stood up.

"Alright then…"

She took a deep sigh and picked up the grappling hook attached to the gun.

"Falling time has been calculated for approximately one second." She murmured to herself.

"Let's do this." And without any further ado.

She jumped.

So, she fell… And true to her words, about a second later, she raised her hand holding the gun with the grappling hook and shot it. There was a whizzing sound, soon to be followed by a loud clunking. The hook had failed to break through the glass of the window, but nothing changed on the face of the girl who had just jumped down seemingly to her death. No, the hook had during its flight already changed form and the sharp ends straightened out making it look more like a metallic star than the appearance it had before. As if it had been magnetically attracted by the glass, the now flat hook pressed itself against the glass, holding a firm grip on it. This all had happened in the matter of a second and the rope still coming out of the gun, suddenly stopped being extended, even if there was still some of it left to be unwhirled, being held in her hand. What followed next was what normal physics would tell you what'd happen next. Hitomi, flew in an arc-shaped direction direction towards another window. She extended her legs, ready to take in the impact, which happened sure enough, but just like with the transformed hook from before, she did not break through the glass, but also remained standing there, her boots not gliding down as you would expect from it.

"Alright… It seems like the microscopic and hyperpotent vacuum cups seem to work well enough…" She murmured to herself yet again, "Time to get to work…" She took something out of one of the pockets from her secondary belt, which grew in size again. It looked a bit like a pen, even though it's end was much different than any normal pen, looking much more wider and with small little and round appendages coming out from it. She placed it on the glass, and much like her boots and the grappling hook, it began standing horizontally from the glass. A blue light began to be emitted from its wide end and it began moving automatically on the glass, the round shape made clear by the red glow it left behind, indicating that it just cut through the glass with a laser. It didn't take that long before it fulfilled its way around the glass and as soon as Hitomi grabbed the device again and took it from the glass, she took a deep breath and braced herself, because exactly in this moment, the circle the pen-like device had formed got separated from the glass and the only thing preventing it from falling into the room was Hitomis feet and therefore own strength. She slowly but steadily and visible effort let a bit more rope out of her grappling hook as she carefully guided herself into the room, the glass soundlessly landing on the ground. After she finished this, she took a deep breath and bent down to apparently push some form of button on her boots. After she had done that, she stood up again and carefully got off the glass. The catgirl leaned out of the now open window and quickly pushed another button on her grappling gun, where the sound of the 'hook' being separated from the glass over her could be heard. While it was making its way back, the rope and the hook, along with the gun were already changing size again, becoming miniscule yet again, before the end of the hook was again connected with the muzzle of the gun. Without further ado, she put them in one of her pockets and did the same with the laserpen, which also had shrunk again.

"Well… It's not like I can do anything about this though." It's not like her handy utility belt was ready for anything and trying to 'fix' the window would take too much time anyway. "It's not like I am going to be here for too long. Now… if my memory is correct… My first target should be in the next rooms." And as silent as a cat prowling for its prey, she made her way forward. The floor she was in looked very unremarkable, a floor you would find in any building meant for offices. Plain black ground, uninspiring grey walls and ceiling with the occasional LED lightening up the way. There wasn't really much place to hide, but for the moment there was no one around, which did not surprise her at all. After a few seconds of soundless walking, she finally reached a door, kneeling next to it. She closed her eyes for a moment and concentrated. Her strange ears on her head, twitched.

"Three men…" And as if she was right next to them, she could hear them speak.

"So…" One gruff voice began to talk, "… You really think that the next one is the one?"

"Don't know… Boss seems to think so. It's not like we get a talk in it."

The first voice grumbled at this, "Not that I care what happens to these brats. But don't you think that he gets a bit too indulgent when it comes to using them? Someone is bound to get suspicious one day."

"Well… Yeah…" now a third voice talked, "But if we finally manage to create one… We get filthy rich."

"That's what he says…" The second man replied, "But didn't the first time where they tried to make an Ability Body Crystal end up in a failure?"

"Boss believes he found a way to perfect it… And if it should, anyone can become a Level 5… Or even a Level 6?"

"Well the way I see it… He doesn't… How many kids has he already brought into comas with this? And why hasn't he already disposed of them…"

"Well… They are ressources that can be reused after all… The others are working of waking them up again."

"But yeah… I don't like the guy who the boss has sent to oversee the experiment."

"Ah… You mean that ninja? Or at least that's how he calls himself."

"Ninja…" She could hear a snort, "Just someone who has read too many manga… But the boss seems to trust him enough for this." It was clear that none of the three men seemed happy about this.

"Anyway… This is apparently the one that should make it work, so we just have to see how it ends up and if it works, this city is as good as ours.""

"We are after all… 'The True Order of Academy City'."

Hitomi, who had heard enough, opened her eyes.

So, it was true… All of it.

If she had a moment of hesitation after that revelation, it only lasted a fraction of a second, because she acted right away. Opening the door ajar, she took two little round things out of one of her pockets and threw it in the room. During their flight, they already began to change size again. Before the three men could even fathom that something had just landed on their feet, smoke began to be emitted from the ball-like objects she had just thrown.

"W-Wha…" That was all they could even muster to say, because in the next moment two fell already dead to the ground with either having some star-shaped weapon in their head and the third found his throat slit open by a black knife.

Before the smoke was completely gone, Hitomi made her way towards the door the three men were guarding.

The room she was currently in looked like any office was supposed to look like, even if the men who had just guarded this door all had each a gun in their hand, but again… The catgirl seemed not surprised by all of this, she had rather expected it all. You would think that such a place which was clearly concealing something would have better security and you were definitely right about that. But however this strange girl with the cat ears and the tail had prepared, this had certainly been part of it.

The procedure from before repeated again, she began to kneel in front of the door and closed her eyes to concentrate. But she did not need any kind of special way to reach better level of hearing to hear what was behind this door.

Screaming. It was a child screaming. Even if the door had been made soundproof, any human ear in close proximity would be able to hear even that. At the sound of that, Hitomi felt a tingle of rage rise up within her, but she knew that she should not act recklessly… if what they said was true…Someone was waiting behind her… Or…

The warning came right at the moment where she could react. Both her ears and tail twitched, as she jumped to the side. A quick look told her that the place where her head had just been, a distinct star-shaped weapon was now located… The same kind of weapon that were still plunged in the skulls of two of the men she had just killed.

"Did you really think that disabling all security systems and sneaking right into the floor where we were conducting our experiments would be enough?"

Hitomi's heart stopped. She had known it… She had prepared for it… But still… No amount of preparation would have been enough for this…

"Long time no see." The voice of the same man said. Golden eyes met golden eyes. Dark green hair was close to dark green hair…

"Nii-sama." Hitomi whispered in a quiet voice that was almost unheard, but the man smiled anyway. Even if he didn't have cat ears and a tail himself, his face definitely was similar to a cat himself. Just like Hitomi. In fact, he did look like a slightly older and male version of herself. Just… There was something completely different. Something that only someone well-versed with human personalities could understand.

"So the rumours were true. My cute little sister decided to follow my footsteps and come into Academy City to become an Esper and work from the shadows there? You really haven't changed, haven't you?"

Hitomi was now standing, wiping away the blood from her cheek… Great, now how was she supposed to explain this to Yumiko? She didn't answer.

"What's that look supposed to mean? Are you actually judging me? Just after you killed three men in cold blood?"

"I'm not… not because of that."

"Hoo… What else then?"

Hitomi didn't answer to that question, she just asked him, "What is your purpose in Academy City? Why are you working for such an organization?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" The green-haired man grinned as he drew out a katan of his sheath. He was wearing a black skin-tight suit which definitely held some purpose, she wasn't aware of yet.

Hitomi took one of the keychains, also in form of a katana. It quickly grew to the same size at that of the man she faced.

"Heh… So that's your Esper ability? I suppose you can increase the density of objects? Well that still doesn't explain how you can carry them around so easily. Unless it is made from a special material, am I right?"

Again, Hitomi gave no answer to that. She wasn't even sure why they weren't attacking each other already. Both were ready to kill.

"You know… For old time's sake, I might actually humour you for a bit. I used to be pretty fond of you after all. The way you looked at me as a kid had always been my biggest motivator to keep up with that piece of shit that was our father."

There was a small twitch in one of Hitomis eye.

"The age of Shinobi has ended since a long time. There is no way to deny that. The Iga and Kouga clan are still clinging on every inch of hope that they still might be respected, but us Hattori are over. Even our heir ran away to Academy City after all, but that is besides the point. But at least we are still strong in Anime and Manga, right? We even adapted some of the techniques they used in pop culture ever since the supernatural had become part of daily live." He looked at his sword for a long moment.

"Of course the reason of why many ninja came to Academy City is pretty clear… We want to change. We want to adapt to the times. But they are simply doing it wrong. Principles and tradition… They still cling to it with their dear life." He laughed, "But I ask myself… Why? Why is it so important to hold unto tradition? It only holds you back… It only brings you down…! Why can't we just learn all the techniques to strengthen our body and mind and be done with it?! I was fed up with it… I was fed up with our father and his obsession with getting our former glory back! So I came to Academy City to do just what I want. Use my skills and get stronger. And once I realised that the potential Espers within Academy City hold… I was simply not happy with what I got. If we can truly get more… Why not seek it?" He took a deep breath as he looked up,

"I am well aware that this is completely selfish and is nothing too complex or even relatable for some. But you know what, my dear sister? I simply don't care anymore. Ever since I killed father with his own sword… I stopped caring what others want. I live my own life the way I want. It is as simple as that and whoever wants to stop me from doing just that, is my enemy."

Hitomi, who had listened to this monologue had not changed her facial expression for a bit.

"I see… So you killed father because of that. You made all these children suffer, because of that?"

"That's exactly why."

Hitomi blinked for a moment, her eyes seemed dead.

"Boring."

And this one word started the fight.

Both threw shuriken at each other, them clashing together right in the middle and before they even fell on the ground, both Shinobi clashed as well, their swords giving a loud ringing sound through the room.

What followed next was a fight that could only be described with the following words: 'Just like in a manga'. They jumped around, hit their swords together and tried to reach each other from every possible ankle ever, using the tables, chairs, walls and even the ceiling as footing to do it. None seemed to leave an opening to anything. And while their katana both clashed over and over again, it seemed like other weapons were used as well, even if the normal human eye was unable to see them. Some black kunai, flew to the other side of the room and even small needlelike objects fell on the ground, which could probably penetrate whichever foot it landed upon, but both still seemed to successfully avoid them during their intense fight. After a minute, which had felt like an hour, both departed from each other and landed on a table each. They were breathing heavily, but if you looked closely, Hitomis posture seemed much more exhausted.

"You really became better, little sis." Her brother said with a grin as he took out a shuriken from his suit. He didn't look hurt, "And your ability seemed like quite the useful thing for any shinobi. I got almost hit every now and then. But shrinking your weapons seemed to be the extent of your ability, so I think your Level is at max at 3, right?"

Hitomi also bore several cuts on her skin, even if it didn't look that serious, she still looked frustrated and angry about it.

"And it seems like you also made use of Academy City's tech, haven't you? Or what else is that tail and those cute wars supposed to be? I never took you for a cat person though. Didn't we use to have a dog before? Ah, it doesn't matter… You aren't the only one." And with these words, his suit began to emit a very dangerous looking red light.

"A prototype, you see… Using all the advantages a powered suit has, crammed up in this sexy little thing. I have no idea on what it is made off, but I can assure you that it works… Here."

It was as if a bomb had suddenly gone off. Such a loud boom could be heard, before her brother's face was right next to hers. She had no idea how it could have happened this fast… But, here he was. There was literally no way for her to react… Before she knew it, his hand clutched around her neck and he held her up in the air, squeezing the air out of her and preventing any new to come inside.

"It's that easy, little sis." She knew… She knew that he could break her neck in a matter of a second. That her life was just about over like that and this… was probably why she didn't even try to fight back. She had lost… It was over. But… He let go.

As she fell on the ground, she gasped for air and held her hurting neck, coughing on the ground.

"Before you go… And wonder if I have spared you out of sibling love, you are mistaken. I have not told you my power yet, have I?"

There… There was something else… Something coursing through her body… Something that was different to the burning feeling of her squeezed skin. She began to cough even more.

"It has a simply name. Toxin. And just like you, I am just a Level 3, so nothing that impressive. But also… Just like you, it is pretty useful for our line of work.

"You can almost compare it to our dear Nr.2 of the Level 5. My body can create a substance, that could never be replicated in real life… Something that can only exist through my body. But unlike Kakine, it can only have one effect and purpose and that is destroy life to whatever I touch and let it free. The best part is… It can't even be found by any existing tech, so it is the perfect way to kill someone. You probably wonder what it is doing to your body."

Hitomi began to crawl away, still holding her skin… Her whole body felt like it was on fire… Like a strong fire was scorching her insides.

"Nothing that remarkable, actually… I don't quite get it myself, as it is impossible to make an autopsy after all. But from what I witnessed, it makes you life in pain for about five minutes, before either your body shuts down from shock or the substance stops your heart." Hitomi couldn't see her brother's face… Everything was a blur.

"N–Nii-sama…"

"I don't love you anymore Hitomi. I did love you as my sister… You were the most important thing in my life, I will admit that. But I learned… I learned that such things as attachments and love are only hindrances… I am not arrogant enough and say that I have found the true meaning of life for everyone and that everyone should live their life like I do. I have simply found my own. And that is to live for myself… And only myself. I am free from father and now… From you."

Hitomi continued to crawl. The tears falling down from her face weren't just that of physical pain. She was aware of that.

"What the hell are you doing? Do you think you can still save the child from there? I never said I will let you die from the toxin. I…" But he stopped, as the ringing of a phone could be heard.

"Yeah?" Her brother had accepted the call.

"… I see. So, he is on his way, huh? He really is very persistent when it comes to keeping the Dark Side down. Well… We can't face him yet, so I suppose I take my leave. I have already secured all the data after all."

"…"

"Well, it's not like anyone can save you now." For some reason, his voice was much more quiet. But it could have just been her being unable to understand everything with the searing pain taking every fiber of her being. She already knew that he was gone after all. After finally reaching the door, she used every last ounce of strength left within her to stand up and even if her whole body was trembling and the pain only seemed to get stronger, she still managed to open the door.

"I-Is it over? Have you managed… W-Who are you?!" But before the man in the white gown could raise his gun, he already had a shuriken in his face.

"What the fu…" Another man managed to shoot two shots at her, but missed before she plunged her sword in his chest, having run at him with everything she had left, falling down with him as well… She was breathing heavily… Slowly bringing herself to stand again… Not screaming, only grunting. In her blurring vision, she could see the contraption the poor boy was forced unto with a huge helmet like equipment attached to his head with a tube connected to the top of it. She cut that down with her sword and managed to get the helmet of from the boy…

He opened his eyes… Eyes that held as much suffering in them as she currently felt making her whole body scream in pain.

"W-Who are you?" The boy asked in a feeble voice.

"J-Just…A…" She was trembling and fell on the ground, her limit had now been reached, "You know what… I am just someone trying to do the right thing with the wrong methods… Nothing more."

She was coughing as the boy tried to get out of his predicament, apparently wanting to help her. But there was no helping. She knew that what her brother had said, was completely right… He had no reason to lie to her. She was going to die… just like that. She wasn't even surprised at it… Nor did she feel like she had any purpose to serve for. She had been prepared to die like that, the moment she had entered this city in hopes of doing some good with her skill and finding her brother again. She was almost glad, that it was the latter who killed her. It felt like her death… still held some meaning. Especially after she had managed to save this boy…

She could see the distant shape of the boy she had just saved on her side, apparently shaking her. Ah well… At least the pain was slowly fading. And wouldn't you know it, there was already the light at the end of the tunnel.

Wait… What is that? A person appeared next to the boy… This person seemed to shine in a bright white. An… An Angel? So, they really did exist. Well… If she told that to the Buddhist Priests.

But something was wrong… Dying shouldn't feel like that, right? She shouldn't become more aware of her surroundings, not less. Her vision shouldn't become better, but slowly fade into darkness… So… Why could she suddenly see the face of a teenager with very pale skin and white hair?

"Tch…" The teen clicked his tongue as she stood up, taking his hand off her chest. He was leaning against a crutch. She knew who, he was.

"Accel…erator?"

"So I suppose you are one of them, right?" He seemed pissed off as he continued to stare at her, "One of these groups who try and keep the dark side organisation from resurfacing again, huh." His red eyes scanned the room and stopped at the two corpses on the ground, he clicked his tongue again disapprovingly.

"Anti-Skill is coming soon, so I suggest you leave soon, but don't expect any help from me."

"H-How…?"

"Are you stupid or what? My ability is vector manipulation and this includes any vector in existence. Magic or Dark matter don't matter to me… So that toxic substance was a piece of cake to extract."

Hitomi slowly tried to stand up, her whole body still felt very shaky. She looked at the boy who looked relieved at the sight of her recovered.

"What about…?"

"I already took care of the rest of the children, but whoever was behind it got away, assholes."

"I… I see."

"Just so you know. The only reason I am letting you go like that is because I know that I am not that naive enough to believe that I alone can keep the Dark Side come back again. So, as much as I hate to admit it, I need people like you and your little friends. Just be aware." She had probably never seen anything more menacing than his eyes In her life.

"As soon as you try and become villains yourself, you are dead meat." Hitomi did not even dare and nod to these words as she quickly turned around and made her way out of the room, but…

"Onee-chan… I… Thank you, for saving me!"

A few minutes later, Hitomi had again climbed on top of the building she had come from, through the help of her grappling hook, yet again. She took a deep breath as she took in everything that had just happened… The experiments… The name of the organisation and most of all… her brother resurfacing again. She had believed she had gone stronger… She had believes her determination had been enough. She heard the disapproving voice of Accelerator resounding within her mind, but she quickly shook her head as she took out her phone, calling someone.

"Oh, hi Hitomi-chan! Where are you right now?"

"A-Ah… I…" She felt a rush of relief overcome her as she heard the voice of her friend, "… I just finished, so I am on my way back."

"Oh, that's great!" And after a short while, "Everything alright… You sound… worried?"

"Well… I suppose it is just nervousness, nothing more. Haha…" Hitomi took a deep calming breath, "So… What I wanted to ask you is… If you can cook something for me? I am starving and I am a bit short on cash right now, so…"

"Of course!" There was not even hesitation as Yumiko even sounded excited at this.

"Alright… Thanks. I'll be there then in a few minutes."

"Okay! See you, Hitomi-chan." They hung up on each other again, but this was also not the only call she wanted to make, but it seemed like she didn't even have to do that.

"Hey… I suppose you are aware to everything what happened." Hitomi listened to the voice answering her, "Yes, I am well aware that it could have gone better and that Accelerator had to get involved is everything but good. We all know that he isn't happy with dwelling on the Dark Side. But at least we are now certain that he tolerates us… And that is what we wanted in the first place, right?"

She got a reply to that.

"'The True Order of Academy City', that's what they said, yes and my… Brother works for them. Their aim seems to be to find a method from Espers to reach a higher level through the quickest means. Do you have any idea who their leader is? You do?"

And as she heard the name from the other line, she slowly repeated it herself.

"Kihara… You say?"


End file.
